How often a psychotic episode occurs and how long it lasts can depend on the underlying cause.

For example, schizophrenia can be long term, but most people can make a good recovery and about a quarter only have a single psychotic episode. Episodes related to bipolar disorder usually resolve, but may recur.

Treating psychosis

Treatment for psychosis involves using a combination of:

antipsychotic medication – which can help relieve the symptoms of psychosis

psychological therapies – the one-to-one talking therapy cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has proved successful in helping people with schizophrenia; in appropriate cases, family therapy has been shown to reduce the need for hospital treatment in people with psychosis

social support – support with social needs, such as education, employment, or accommodation

Most people with psychosis who get better with medication need to continue taking it for at least a year. Some people need to take medication long term to prevent symptoms recurring.

If a person's psychotic episodes are severe, they may need to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

Getting help for others

People with psychosis often have a lack of insight. They're unaware that they're thinking and acting strangely.

Because of their lack of insight, it's often down to the friends, relatives, or carers of a person affected by psychosis to seek help for them.

If you're concerned about someone you know and think they may have psychosis, you could contact their social worker or community mental health nurse if they've previously been diagnosed with a mental health condition.

If you think the person's symptoms are placing them at possible risk of harm, you can:

Complications

People with a history of psychosis are much more likely to have drug or alcohol misuse problems, or both.

This may be because these substances can provide short-term symptom relief, although they usually make symptoms worse in the long term.

People with psychosis also have a higher than average risk of suicide. It's estimated 1 in 5 people with psychosis will attempt to commit suicide at some point in their life, and 1 in 25 people with psychosis will kill themselves.

Side effects can also occur if someone is taking antipsychotics on a long-term basis. Weight gain is a common side effect. In rare cases, a person with psychosis may also develop type 2 diabetes.